Keeping the Web Safe for Pirates

1/23/2012 12:01 AM Eastern

By: By Todd Spangler

Let no one doubt the rabble rousingpower of the Internet.

Incited largely by Google and Wikipedia’s callsto protect “free speech” online, millions of Americanslast week bombarded congressional representativesto voice opposition to the House’s StopOnline Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate’s PROTECTIntellectual Property Act (PIPA). Both billswere destined to be vetoed by President Obamaanyway, but the Netizen riot yesterday scaredenough elected officials that they probably won’teven get that far.

So much for the millions of lobbying greenbacksdropped by the Motion Picture Associationof America, Recording Industry Association of America,NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Co., Viacom, Time WarnerInc. and others. Corporate media interests were shouted downby the Web mob — and the entertainment industry was caughtflat-footed, without a Web 2.0 counter-campaign to make itscase about why new laws are necessary.

“You shut down Congress’s switchboards. You melted theirservers,” Wikipedia gloated, claiming more than 8 million peoplelooked up their representatives’ contact info on its site. Thefree encyclopedia “blacked out” for the day in protest, thoughsavvier users could still access the articles.

But what are SOPA and PIPA for? Google andWikipedia gloss over this.

The legislation is designed to give U.S. copyrightowners a way to shut down foreign piratesites, which aren’t subject to the Digital MillenniumCopyright Act (DMCA), by blocking access totheir domain names. Period.

Arguing that these laws would result in “censorship”of the Internet is akin to saying shopliftingprohibitions are a restraint of free trade. Or suggestingthat criminalizing public sex acts curtailsa citizen’s right to free expression.

Yes, there are parts of SOPA and PIPA that aretroubling. For one thing they would allow the U.S. governmentto demand that even the links to rogue sites be culled fromsearch engines, according to the Electronic Freedom Foundation— a pointless measure that seems inappropriate.

But instead of trying to find middle ground, the “informationwants to be free” crowd is throwing the baby out with thebathwater. So what if a few links to pirate sites are monetizedby Google AdWords? That’s the price of freedom, bub.

The Web masses have spoken. And so, for now, the piratesare still free to sail the Internet without much trouble.